16 Sep 2011

Getting away with it review by Morwenna Drake

Getting away with it by Julie Cohen

Guest reviewer Morwenna Drake

What's it about?﻿

Liza is a professional stunt-woman, a wild child and the bad twin of the Haven sisters. When a reckless accident results in the loss of her job, Liza finds herself being drawn back to her hometown of ?? at the invitation of her sister, Lee. However, when Liza’s sister fails to turn up at a charity benefit, Liza finds herself taking over Lee’s life to cover her disappearance. Things soon turn out to be more complicated that she imagined, especially when Will Naughton steps on the scene.

Morwennas review:

Recommended to me, I took this book away on holiday. I’m very specific about my chick lit – I like strong yet sassy heroines. So to get to the third chapter and find that the main female character was actually really bitchy and petty, was a real turn-off. I kept reading because it had been recommended – but then, boy was I glad that I did!

The first chapters charting Liza’s accident and her motivations for going back to ?? are undoubtedly necessary to make the story flow, but my interest was really captured when she began the charade. So begins a journey that turns a barely likeable character into one in which the reader is completely invested. Odd flashes of insight into the real Lee’s whereabouts and thoughts make the story more rounded and the ending more satisfying.

Personally I felt the initial motivation for Liza taking on Lee’s identity was a little unbelievable, but everything that followed was realistic. This included some very touching moments with Liza coming to terms with her mother’s increasing dementia.

What started out threatening to be a superficial and predictable novel very quickly turned into a charming, emotional page-turner. In the final scenes, I had tears in my eyes and a determination to seek out more of this author’s work.